John Kuester: Short Term Solution? I Beg to Differ

Disappointment was the response of many Pistons fans when they heard the news. Avery Johnson would not be the next head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Hope rose though and lifted the spirits of many when they heard that Bill Laimbeer was still a possibly option. Yet again though Dumars would bring disappointment, Bill would not be the next coach.

Now the Pistons fans wondered who could possibly be the next head coach? Some said the Celtics assistant, while others agreed that bringing in Kuester would be good. Well this time for some Dumars didn't disappoint, he brought back one of the key ingredients of the championship team, John Kuester.

Some have doubts in him and others say he's just a short term solution. If you ask me he's here to stay. Dumars has realized that the game is changing and it's tougher to win with just loads of defensive greatness. That's one of the main reasons why Bill is not the new coach of the Pistons and Kuester is.

Kuester was a great assistant for Larry Brown and he helped improve many of the Pistons scoring and offensive parts of the game. When he moved to Cleveland, he got his players to excel on the offensive end of the court. He'll look to do much of the same in Detroit and make them a high powered offensive team. So lets look at some of the reasons I feel he will stick around for some time.

1) He's a great offensive coach and the Pistons are transitioning into a new style, becoming more offensively minded.

As I pointed out he helped improve many of the Pistons offensively back when he was an assistant for Brown. He has much more experience than most, and he also has a championship with the Pistons as an assistant. In Cleveland, he helped improve not only LeBron's game but more importantly his surrounding cast improved a lot. Most of the improvement was the work of Kuester helping them day in and day out. He will be able to do a lot with Stuckey and some of the rookies as well as the new free agent signings.

2) The Pistons just signed two free agents, who are big offensive weapons, to long term-deals.

When Dumars signed these guys, he already had in mind what needed to be done. They needed to become more offensive and have more scoring threats. Why sign them to long term deals though and then later bring in Bill, a defensive minded-coach, or someone like him?

He got these free agents for a reason, and then brought in Kuester for the same reason. To get the offense going on that team and he knew that Kuester was the right man for the job. He'll improve everyone else's offensive game, and especially these two players. It would almost a waste to sign these two if they plan on later bringing in someone who's going to be more defensively minded.

3) He has experience, he's coached the Pistons before, and he has a championship with them.

Not many coaches can say that have all that on there resumes. Dumars likes winners even if he was an assistant at the time, he was still a vital part. He likes having people who have been around the Pistons before and who have had success while being there. He also knows, like I said, that the game is changing and Kuester knows how to get this team to transition into that. No one is better for the job in my honest opinion and he'll prove it.

4) Dumars used to have his way with coaches, but now that he's fired so many he doesn't have so much success when trying to deal with them anymore. Keeping Kuester around for a while will help regain some of the coaches respect.

Dumars didn't get his first option, nor his second, and some say Kuester may have been 4th after the Celtics assistant. It used to be Dumars could fire a guy after a year or two and not have to worry. He could just bring in the best coach available and he had his way with them. As evidence this year with him not getting his first few options, he may not quite have his way with them anymore. Coaches like job security and see him fire coaches year after year, it would make me a reluctant too. I think he'll keep Kuester around if he's having success for a while just to show them that he can keep a coach if he likes him and he's sucessful.

With all that said, I hope Kuester gets to stick around for many years and that he will have success. Hopefully he can get us a few championships. I feel Dumars will give him that chance if not just for the last reason, that he's not as respected by coaches anymore.